Friday, April 06, 2012

PNGSDP: Barramundi project progressing well

By
MALUM NALU

A COMMERCIAL barramundi hatchery set up in Daru,
Western province, by the PNG Sustainable Development Program four years ago is
progressing very well, according to PNGSDP chief David Sode, The National reports.

He said yesterday the hatchery was capable of
producing “a couple of million” barramundi fingerlings every year to replenish
stocks in the Fly River and other river systems of Western province.

Barramundi fingerlings at the Daru hatchery.-Picture by FLORENCE KUYEI

Sode said the hatchery was one of the major projects
in Daru which promised to transform the local economy.

The barramundi hatchery came under the Western
Province Sustainable Aquaculture (WPSA), a PNGSDP initiative which had a strong
regional development focus, incorporating potential public, private and
community partnerships.

Fishing was perceived as the most important industry
after mining in Western province.

In recent
years, the collapse of the barramundi fishery in the Fly River due to
over-fishing, changes in attitude and environmental degradation had
significantly impacted on the income-generating and subsistence opportunities
of the river-dependent communities along the Fly.

A number of communities along the Fly River had been
affected by the presence of the Ok Tedi Mine (OTML), and are currently
receiving payments, which would phase out by the time the mine closes.

WPSA was a K28 million programme made up of a
commercial barramundi hatchery facility and three associated social development
projects:

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